Olympic Steel, Inc. announced record net income of $12.2 million on record sales of $240.2 million for the fourth quarter and record net income of $60.1 million on record net sales of $894.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.

Fourth Quarter Results— Net income of $12.2 million ($1.17 per diluted share) compares to a net loss of $2.1 million ($(0.22) per diluted share) for last year's fourth quarter. Net sales of $240.2 million represent an 87.1% increase compared to $128.4 million in the fourth quarter a year ago. Tons sold decreased 8.8% to 303 thousand from 332 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Results were impacted by $(.03) per share for an increase in the company's bad debt reserve for a Tier 1 automotive supplier's bankruptcy filing in early February 2005.

Full Year Results—Net income of $60.1 million ($5.88 per diluted share) compares to a net loss of $3.3 million ($(0.34) per diluted share) in 2003. Net sales of $894.2 million reflect an 89.2% increase from $472.5 million in the prior year. Tons sold increased 14.7% to 1.36 million from 1.18 million in 2003.

Comments—"We are pleased to report record net sales and earnings," stated Michael D. Siegal, Chairman and CEO. "Our tons sold in the fourth quarter were lower, particularly to the service center sector, as a result of higher inventories in that spot market sector. We expect this inventory overhang to diminish during the first quarter of 2005, as imports are decreasing and end use consumers of steel have remained extremely busy.

"We are also pleased that our strong balance sheet and cash management efforts resulted in a small reduction of debt during 2004, while our working capital employed increased by $78 million. In addition, we are highly confident that the extraordinary effort by many will have Olympic Steel in full 404 Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Outlook—"With continuing strong end use demand, high steelmaking raw material and energy costs, and a weak U.S. dollar, our outlook remains favorable for 2005,” continued Mr. Siegal. “We are optimistic about our ability to meet our customers' anticipated increased needs for steel and value added services. We will install two new laser-processing machines in Cleveland during the first quarter of 2005, and two others in our Central Region later this year," concluded Mr. Siegal.

Founded in 1954, Olympic Steel is a leading U.S. steel service center focused on the direct sale and distribution of large volumes of processed carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil and plate steel products. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company operates 12 facilities and participates in two joint ventures.